In industries relying upon soil as a surface for supporting a given activity, it is often necessary to compact the soil to so that it is firm enough for the intended purpose. For example, in sporting industries, soil is often relied upon as the primary "playing" area and hence, requires a certain amount of care to maintain in a useable condition. Such sports fields include baseball diamonds and particularly, pitcher's mounds and batter's boxes, equestrian fields, sand traps at golf courses and the like. Each area would benefit from highly compacted and hence durable soil. Soil compaction has been accomplished by various methods, including rolling heavy weights over the surface, impacting a heavy plate onto the surface and by vibration. Compaction by rolling has enjoyed wide-spread use. However, even with large rollers, compacting the soil over at over 1000 pounds per square inch has proven difficult.
It has also been found that some sports field materials are not as durable or useful when the moisture therein is lost. This "drying out" often has a detrimental effect upon the usefulness of the material for its intended purpose.
A need exists therefore, for a durable substitute for soil, which overcomes the problem of compacting soil already on the ground. A need also exists for a material which can be used to stabilize soil already in place, and which is resistant to "drying out".